US Economy - News, Updates and Discussion

[东风夜放花千树]

It depends.

There are a few different types of farmers in the US: Corporate, Co-Op, and Family Farm.

Corporate ususally own their own land, while Co-Op usually leases fields to farm, Family can be both.

If by "Mechanized" you mean we use a tractor and other machinery instead of using horse drawn/ox drawn cart to plough, sow, and harvest, then yes. I don't know any farmer did not own tractors. But if by "Mechanized" you mean automated farming like they did in Europe, then no, a lot of manual labor is involved in American farms.

Thank you for your answer.

Trump's tariff policy affected farmers; it was really a bad decision.

 

[KAL-EL]

Thank you for your answer.

Trump's tariff policy affected farmers; it was really a bad decision.

It was an incredibly bad decision! But this is Trump we're talking about, should we really be surprised?

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

Feel free to interpret as you wish:


Source is tradingeconomics.com. Transportation companies can expect to see their fuel bills go up.

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

For those of us in the US and retired, here's a snapshot on what you need currently for necessities:

How much do you need to retire? A state-by-state breakdown

Retirees on fixed incomes face affordability challenges depending on where they live. A study ranks states by the monthly savings needed to retire comfortably.

www.foxbusiness.com

Based on what is in the article, to live comfortably here in AZ-land we would need about $92K per year.

 

[hussain0216]

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This video is genuinely very very informative and explains the situation very well

It's well worth a watch

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

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This video is genuinely very very informative and explains the situation very well

It's well worth a watch

The first Domino?????

They were talking about dominos already happening back in the 1980s.
It's now 40 years later.

While I think it shouldn't be laughed at...people have been crying doom is next week for 40 years now. So much so that people have become completely de-sensitized.

 

[Watandar]

For those of us in the US and retired, here's a snapshot on what you need currently for necessities:

How much do you need to retire? A state-by-state breakdown

Retirees on fixed incomes face affordability challenges depending on where they live. A study ranks states by the monthly savings needed to retire comfortably.

www.foxbusiness.com

Based on what is in the article, to live comfortably here in AZ-land we would need about $92K per year.

When did Arizona turn into NYC ?? Surely this figure must be for some well to do Phoenix suburb only.

 

[j_hungary]

Thank you for your answer.

Trump's tariff policy affected farmers; it was really a bad decision.

The rate the Tariff going, it basically is doing a double whammy on farmers and consumers alike.

Tariffs kill contracts, and we don't grow much of anything in the US besides cotton, grain, soybeans, and other industrial crops. it's because they are heavily industrial and government-subsidised (they are primarily used in feed and ethanol). Stuff that people eat are primarily imported from Mexico and Canada. There are a few wet farming in California and probably some spots that cultivate things like vegetables, fruits and so on. This is the reason why vege like Tomatoes, Coffee and avocados (around $4 and $8 a pound) are super expensive at the moment.

Farmer now is being hit with high fuel cost, everything we grow need diesel to grow, and the price now almost tripled. We are currently at the end of planting season, which mean if you don't plant now, you don't have anything to harvest, and everything farmer plant will be 2 to 3 times higher at cost, because that's everything evolve around fuel, you need fuel to move your tractor and plow the field, you need fuel to move your tractor to plant seed, and you need fuel to transport your seed and fertilizer (which is also high because majority of nitrate base fertiliser also come from the middle east). So whatever we had planted this year is almost double to triple the cost, and that cost is going to show in harvest time later this year at around october.

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

The rate the Tariff going, it basically is doing a double whammy on farmers and consumers alike.

{snip}

Unfortunately, that is a harsh reality some are not willing to admit. Yet, we're already seeing it.

 

[东风夜放花千树]

The rate the Tariff going, it basically is doing a double whammy on farmers and consumers alike.

Tariffs kill contracts, and we don't grow much of anything in the US besides cotton, grain, soybeans, and other industrial crops. it's because they are heavily industrial and government-subsidised (they are primarily used in feed and ethanol). Stuff that people eat are primarily imported from Mexico and Canada. There are a few wet farming in California and probably some spots that cultivate things like vegetables, fruits and so on. This is the reason why vege like Tomatoes, Coffee and avocados (around $4 and $8 a pound) are super expensive at the moment.

Farmer now is being hit with high fuel cost, everything we grow need diesel to grow, and the price now almost tripled. We are currently at the end of planting season, which mean if you don't plant now, you don't have anything to harvest, and everything farmer plant will be 2 to 3 times higher at cost, because that's everything evolve around fuel, you need fuel to move your tractor and plow the field, you need fuel to move your tractor to plant seed, and you need fuel to transport your seed and fertilizer (which is also high because majority of nitrate base fertiliser also come from the middle east). So whatever we had planted this year is almost double to triple the cost, and that cost is going to show in harvest time later this year at around october.

I saw some news saying that farmers need loans to cover costs, and when the tariff war made it impossible to sell soybeans, some government officials bought a large amount of low-priced land.

Is this real news?

 

[j_hungary]

Unfortunately, that is a harsh reality some are not willing to admit. Yet, we're already seeing it.

If you think things are bad now, wait til October/November. It's going to get worse once those crops they planted is being harvested right around that time

 

[j_hungary]

I saw some news saying that farmers need loans to cover costs, and when the tariff war made it impossible to sell soybeans, some government officials bought a large amount of low-priced land.

Is this real news?

This is half true

Farmers needed a loan to cover the cost, which is true, but this is a long-term issue that started during Trump's first term 1. This is a combination of factors, not just due to the tariff. Factors such as yield, cost, selling price, and land operation cost are the factors.

But then farming is probably one of, if not the most, subsidised industries in the US, while you won't make any decent money (unless you are one of those big corporate farms), you won't generally go bust with all the federal bailout and farm insurance.

Farm Bankruptcies Continued to Climb in 2025

U.S. farm bankruptcies rose to 315 in 2025, up 46% year over year, as declining farm income, rising debt, and higher costs strain farmers and increase the risk of more farm closures.

www.fb.org

It's a rumor that the government own corpo been eating up smaller American farms, as we can see from the bankruptcy records. While 2025 is bad, it's not exactly pre-COVID level bad.

 

[Watandar]

I am hearing rumors of an upcoming shortage in oils needed for cars, like the motor oil. It may be best to get your oil changes in now.

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

I am hearing rumors of an upcoming shortage in oils needed for cars, like the motor oil. It may be best to get your oil changes in now.

It's not a rumor. I've been seeing it for several weeks now at my favorite local auto parts store as well as Walmart.

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

If you think things are bad now, wait til October/November. It's going to get worse once those crops they planted is being harvested right around that time

Already well aware of it. Add in some extreme weather in the Midwest, and things will be even worse.